City and Province partner to extend 85 Extreme Weather shelter spaces

December 22 2016Two locations remain open as of Wednesday

The City of Vancouver and BC Housing have partnered with community and faith groups to ensure that 85 Extreme Weather Response shelter spaces at three locations will remain open through to the end of January and beyond (if cold weather persists).

These spaces will continue to be available to those in need regardless of whether the Extreme Weather Response program is activated or not.

The recent cold weather has resulted in the activation of the Extreme Weather Response (EWR) shelters to meet an increasing need to provide additional warm and safe spaces for people to access.

Over the past weekend, the City opened up three temporary warming centres to support this which have been used by more than 70 people each night. As the EWR has been deactivated, these warming centres will now be closed. However, the community centres and other public buildings are available during their regular open hours as spaces to warm up.

The 85 Extreme Weather shelter spaces are at the following locations. If you need shelter space, phone 2-1-1 to check availability.

Address/Operator

Spaces

Hours

101 E Cordova St
(Serena's)

20

Open as of Fri, Dec 23

119 E Cordova St
(Salvation Army Harbour Light)

40

8:00pm - 8:00am

828 Cambie St
(Catholic Charities)

25

4:00pm - 8:00am

An additional 40 spaces could be made available in early January or sooner at The Gathering Place (609 Helmcken St).

Background

There are 956 permanent shelter beds in Vancouver, an additional 195 temporary winter shelter beds, and up to 234 beds available during extreme weather.

Over the last eight winters, the City of Vancouver and BC Housing have partnered to open temporary winter shelters so people experiencing homelessness can find the support they need. Winter shelters save lives by connecting homeless residents with necessary health, social, and housing services.